I always come away so re energized from my visits with Su Beng. It is always so inspiring and reaffirming to talk to this man who so steadfastly believes it is not a question of whether or not Taiwan will one day become an independent, normal country; it is a matter of when.
All legalese aside, Su Beng has told me that the Supreme Court has charged him on two counts.
First count- 50 days
On April 26th the taxi driver- who drove (Su Beng) right up beside Lien Chan's car on the expressway enroute to the airport- was arrested and held without bail. The following day, Su Beng led a motorcade of taxis in protest outside of the jail where his driver was held. He has been charged with serving 50 days in prison for continuing to protest after being given 3 warnings to stop. He will not be able to post bail in lieu of serving the 50 days.
Second count- 6 months
Su Beng has also been charged with serving 6 months in prison for setting off fireworks in the Taiwan Taoyuan Airport on April 26, 2005 during the mass protests of Lien Chan's trip to China.
Su Beng's assistant, Bin Hong has been charged with 8 months for her involvement in the activities at the Taiwan Taoyuan airport on April 26th.
Su Beng and Bin Hong may post bail for over NT$600,000 total- for both of their 6 month and 8 month charges respectively.
He is currently seeking legal advice on how to proceed with this.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Deciphering fact from fiction
Certainly those who have heard tall tales about Su Beng may wonder what is fact or fiction and here I will offer some points of clarification.
History buffs should be the first to note that Su Beng, who was born in 1918, would have only been about 16 years of age when the Long March began in October of 1934. So, no, he did not participate in the Long March, which was the yearlong military retreat of the Red Armies of the Communist Party of China as they attempted to dodge Kuomingtang forces.
On getting a vasectomy
Su Beng did indeed get a vasectomy before the age of thirty, while he was in Shanghai (1942-1945) working as an undercover agent for the Chinese Communists; his reasons for electing to get a vasectomy include some “colorful” and practical reasons. It was common practice for the Chinese Communists to pair up male and female undercover agents, thereby assigning them to live as a “married” couple. And so they did- live under the same roof and sleep in the same bed. Inevitably, some “couples” ended up consummating their relationship, and if this resulted in offspring, the agents were transferred away to remote areas, abandoned by the Chinese Communists and considered to no longer be of any use. Su Beng saw this and decided that he didn’t want to meet such demise. He had followed his Marxist, socialist ideals to come to China in order to resist Japanese imperialism; nothing was going to prevent his revolutionary purpose.
Was this a man who simply knew himself- that he was just human and that he would have these undeniable urges which he wouldn’t be able to control? Some might say he could have just used some self-control and restraint, but just how realistic is that view? Were there more noble reasons at work in Su Beng’s decision? Decisions like this are not always as simple as they seem.
The one person that Su Beng said he’d have to “answer to” for this life decision would be his grandmother- who raised him like a son. Su Beng's mother was an only child, so he was given his mother’s maiden name Shi (施)rather than his father’s surname Lin in order to continue the Shi lineage.
On being a Communist
Su Beng went to China (1942-1949) a socialist idealist; working for the Chinese Communists was a means to resist Japanese imperialism. He became disillusioned with communism as the hypocrisy and brutality of the Chinese Communists became apparent. He resisted and did not join the Communist party, he knew he'd have to devise a way to escape their clutches. It wouldn't be easy.
And there’s more…
There’s the woman who’s said to be the love of his life- a Japanese woman that Su Beng met in Beijing, who fled with him out of China (in 1949) and away from the grip of the Chinese Communists to Taiwan. After his involvement in a plot to assassinate Chiang Kai-shek, he fled from Taiwan by stowing away in a banana boat to Japan (in 1952). Later she reunited with him in Japan.
During the 40 years or so (from 1952-1993) that Su Beng lived in exile in Japan, he illegally entered Taiwan several times in order to continue his underground efforts to destabilize the KMT and promote Taiwan independence.
History buffs should be the first to note that Su Beng, who was born in 1918, would have only been about 16 years of age when the Long March began in October of 1934. So, no, he did not participate in the Long March, which was the yearlong military retreat of the Red Armies of the Communist Party of China as they attempted to dodge Kuomingtang forces.
On getting a vasectomy
Su Beng did indeed get a vasectomy before the age of thirty, while he was in Shanghai (1942-1945) working as an undercover agent for the Chinese Communists; his reasons for electing to get a vasectomy include some “colorful” and practical reasons. It was common practice for the Chinese Communists to pair up male and female undercover agents, thereby assigning them to live as a “married” couple. And so they did- live under the same roof and sleep in the same bed. Inevitably, some “couples” ended up consummating their relationship, and if this resulted in offspring, the agents were transferred away to remote areas, abandoned by the Chinese Communists and considered to no longer be of any use. Su Beng saw this and decided that he didn’t want to meet such demise. He had followed his Marxist, socialist ideals to come to China in order to resist Japanese imperialism; nothing was going to prevent his revolutionary purpose.
Was this a man who simply knew himself- that he was just human and that he would have these undeniable urges which he wouldn’t be able to control? Some might say he could have just used some self-control and restraint, but just how realistic is that view? Were there more noble reasons at work in Su Beng’s decision? Decisions like this are not always as simple as they seem.
The one person that Su Beng said he’d have to “answer to” for this life decision would be his grandmother- who raised him like a son. Su Beng's mother was an only child, so he was given his mother’s maiden name Shi (施)rather than his father’s surname Lin in order to continue the Shi lineage.
On being a Communist
Su Beng went to China (1942-1949) a socialist idealist; working for the Chinese Communists was a means to resist Japanese imperialism. He became disillusioned with communism as the hypocrisy and brutality of the Chinese Communists became apparent. He resisted and did not join the Communist party, he knew he'd have to devise a way to escape their clutches. It wouldn't be easy.
And there’s more…
There’s the woman who’s said to be the love of his life- a Japanese woman that Su Beng met in Beijing, who fled with him out of China (in 1949) and away from the grip of the Chinese Communists to Taiwan. After his involvement in a plot to assassinate Chiang Kai-shek, he fled from Taiwan by stowing away in a banana boat to Japan (in 1952). Later she reunited with him in Japan.
During the 40 years or so (from 1952-1993) that Su Beng lived in exile in Japan, he illegally entered Taiwan several times in order to continue his underground efforts to destabilize the KMT and promote Taiwan independence.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Just what ARE the charges?
Though the charges facing Su Beng and his assistant, Bin Hong were reported in the Chinese language Liberty Times newspaper today, Su Beng himself and his assistant have not yet received an official notice of the charges.
So the exact terms of the charges have yet to be confirmed; it is not clear how much bail may be posted in lieu of serving time or whether bail will be even be allowed to be posted.
No comments yet on how Su Beng or Bin Hong will proceed or whether Su Beng will post bail, or actually serve the time.
So the exact terms of the charges have yet to be confirmed; it is not clear how much bail may be posted in lieu of serving time or whether bail will be even be allowed to be posted.
No comments yet on how Su Beng or Bin Hong will proceed or whether Su Beng will post bail, or actually serve the time.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
This just in from The Liberty Times
Today The Liberty Times reported on the charges levied against Su Beng and his assistant Bin Hong for their involvement in protesting Lien Chan's trip to meet with Chinese Commmunist leaders on April 26, 2005.
On September 15, 2006 the Liberty Times newspaper reported that Su Beng had received a charge of serving 50 days in prison. It wasn’t clear just what the charge was for, but it was most likely related to Su Beng’s involvement in the events surrounding the April 26, 2005 protests of Lien Chan’s trip to China to meet with Communist China’s leaders. On that day, as Lien was departing from the Taiwan Taoyuan airport (then known as the Chiang Kai Shek airport) violence sparked between pan-blue and pan-green protestors at the airport.
And earlier that day, as Lien Chan's motorcade made its way to the airport from his residence, several taxis (under Su Beng's instructions) followed behind in hot pursuit. While on the expressway, one of the taxis, in which Su Beng was riding, drove right up to Lien Chan’s car window and Su Beng held out a note for him to read, which read “Don’t sellout Taiwan.” The driver of this taxi was soon arrested and put in jail without bail.
Su Beng and his people also went to the Taiwan Taoyuan airport that day to protest Lien Chan’s trip to China. They had fireworks in their possession, some of which were set off while they were there.
Here's a more detailed explanation behind the charge of 50 days: http://writingblock.blogspot.com/2006/09/anachronistic-assembly-and-parade-law.html
I've spoken to Bin Hong to get clarification on what exactly the charges are and for comment on how she and Su Beng are going to proceed. More details to come when they become available...
Saturday, April 28, 2007
A weekend of commemoration (April 5-7, 2007) continued
Picking up where I left off and after spending my first evening at Su Beng's residence in Sinjhuang…
The first day of my visit (April 6th) we set off early in the morning to pick up some offerings for Su Beng’s ancestral tomb.
It was a dark rainy morning which made the walk down to the tomb from the top of a hill quite precarious.
It’s a shame that it was so dark, dreary and rainy; it must be quite a view from there usually. Funny thing is, I’ve been told that in Taiwan, much of the prime property on hillsides with a view like this, have in large part, been occupied by ancestral tombs.
After the all the rites were performed we went off to pick something up to bring over for lunch at Mr. Lin’s.
We drove for what seemed like more than an hour. When we arrived I saw that we could see the ocean from the back of Mr. Lin’s house. We entered the house through the back via Mr. Lin’s art studio.
Mr. Lin has been working on this clay bust of Su Beng for the past four months, since December of 2006. He will be using the clay bust to make a mold and finally a bronze sculpture. The entire process will take about 6-7 months, so the bronze bust should be complete in June or July.
Do you see a resemblance?
Su Beng and Mr. Lin have known each other for over twenty years now; they met in 1982. During the summers of 1981-82, Su Beng began making annual trips from Japan to North and South America, and Europe to make connections with overseas Taiwanese and to distribute copies of the Chinese version of Taiwan's 400 Years of History (which was published in 1980). At that time Su Beng had been living Japan since 1952, when he was forced to flee there after the Kuomingtang discovered his involvement in a plot to assassinate Chiang Kai-shek. He remained there in exile until he returned to live in Taiwan in 1993.
During one of Su Beng’s trips to Europe in 1982, some friends in the overseas Taiwanese community there introduced Su Beng to Mr. Lin, so Su Beng went to Austria to spend a week at Mr. Lin's. Mr. Lin recounted how Su Beng would start off every morning by faithfully doing yoga exercises, how they’d have a drink together over lunch and have enlightening conversations. As Mr. Lin reminisced about those days, so long ago, he remarked that they were both young then- Su Beng was 64, about the age that Mr. Lin is now.
The following morning (April 7, the second day of my visit) we went to the Freedom Era (自由時代) Weekly magazine office pay our respects to 鄭南榕, Mr. Cheng Nan-jung (aka Nylon which is his anglicized name). Mr. Cheng was publisher of the Freedom Era Weekly magazine and that day was the 18th anniversary of Mr Cheng's tragic death. Su Beng decided to take his Taiwan Independence Action ( 獨立台灣會) motorcade out in the morning for its rounds, instead of the afternoon, en route to the Freedom Era Weekly office.
The troubles that led to Mr. Cheng's death that fateful day began in December of 1988, when he published a draft of a new constitution for a new independent Taiwan in his magazine. In January and February of 1989, Mr. Cheng was summoned to appear in court on sedition charges. He refused to appear, and on April 7, 1989 about a hundred riot police prepared to attack the Freedom Era Weekly's office by assembling at the Chung Shan Primary School, which was just across the street. Mr. Cheng set himself on fire in his office rather than be arrested for sedition charges. The burnt remains of Mr. Cheng's office have been preserved and it is now a commemorative site; it is a truly haunting scene that will remain etched in my memory. For the complete details of what happened on April 7, 1989, please click on this link: http://www.taiwandc.org/twcom/tc40-int.pdf
The Taiwan Independence Action motorcade arrives at the Freedom Era Weekly office
The Taiwan Independence Action (獨立台灣會) motorcade has been making its rounds every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, for more than 10 years, since April 1994. Since returning to Taiwan in 1993, Su Beng has cultivated a grass roots following amongst taxi drivers and in 1994 Su Beng began organizing a group of taxis and trucks that form the weekly Taiwan Independence Action motorcade. On those afternoons, Su Beng himself would stand on a truck painted taxi cab yellow, with the words “獨立台灣會” or “Taiwan Independence Action” emblazoned on the side; he would speak over a megaphone and there would also be about 10 taxis in the procession. For nearly 2 hours, they would make their rounds around Taipei city and Taipei county.
Now, others in lieu of Su Beng have taken up the cause of delivering messages over the megaphone. To paraphrase, their messages are that: the Taiwanese must throw off the shackles of post-World War II colonization to become a normal country, and the Taiwanese need to stand up for themselves and Taiwan. Taiwan should be independent. The Republic of China is not the Taiwanese people's country.
Riding back to Sinjhuang after visiting the Freedom Era Weekly office
The first day of my visit (April 6th) we set off early in the morning to pick up some offerings for Su Beng’s ancestral tomb.
It was a dark rainy morning which made the walk down to the tomb from the top of a hill quite precarious.
It’s a shame that it was so dark, dreary and rainy; it must be quite a view from there usually. Funny thing is, I’ve been told that in Taiwan, much of the prime property on hillsides with a view like this, have in large part, been occupied by ancestral tombs.
After the all the rites were performed we went off to pick something up to bring over for lunch at Mr. Lin’s.
We drove for what seemed like more than an hour. When we arrived I saw that we could see the ocean from the back of Mr. Lin’s house. We entered the house through the back via Mr. Lin’s art studio.
Mr. Lin has been working on this clay bust of Su Beng for the past four months, since December of 2006. He will be using the clay bust to make a mold and finally a bronze sculpture. The entire process will take about 6-7 months, so the bronze bust should be complete in June or July.
Do you see a resemblance?
Su Beng and Mr. Lin have known each other for over twenty years now; they met in 1982. During the summers of 1981-82, Su Beng began making annual trips from Japan to North and South America, and Europe to make connections with overseas Taiwanese and to distribute copies of the Chinese version of Taiwan's 400 Years of History (which was published in 1980). At that time Su Beng had been living Japan since 1952, when he was forced to flee there after the Kuomingtang discovered his involvement in a plot to assassinate Chiang Kai-shek. He remained there in exile until he returned to live in Taiwan in 1993.
During one of Su Beng’s trips to Europe in 1982, some friends in the overseas Taiwanese community there introduced Su Beng to Mr. Lin, so Su Beng went to Austria to spend a week at Mr. Lin's. Mr. Lin recounted how Su Beng would start off every morning by faithfully doing yoga exercises, how they’d have a drink together over lunch and have enlightening conversations. As Mr. Lin reminisced about those days, so long ago, he remarked that they were both young then- Su Beng was 64, about the age that Mr. Lin is now.
The following morning (April 7, the second day of my visit) we went to the Freedom Era (自由時代) Weekly magazine office pay our respects to 鄭南榕, Mr. Cheng Nan-jung (aka Nylon which is his anglicized name). Mr. Cheng was publisher of the Freedom Era Weekly magazine and that day was the 18th anniversary of Mr Cheng's tragic death. Su Beng decided to take his Taiwan Independence Action ( 獨立台灣會) motorcade out in the morning for its rounds, instead of the afternoon, en route to the Freedom Era Weekly office.
The troubles that led to Mr. Cheng's death that fateful day began in December of 1988, when he published a draft of a new constitution for a new independent Taiwan in his magazine. In January and February of 1989, Mr. Cheng was summoned to appear in court on sedition charges. He refused to appear, and on April 7, 1989 about a hundred riot police prepared to attack the Freedom Era Weekly's office by assembling at the Chung Shan Primary School, which was just across the street. Mr. Cheng set himself on fire in his office rather than be arrested for sedition charges. The burnt remains of Mr. Cheng's office have been preserved and it is now a commemorative site; it is a truly haunting scene that will remain etched in my memory. For the complete details of what happened on April 7, 1989, please click on this link: http://www.taiwandc.org/twcom/tc40-int.pdf
The Taiwan Independence Action motorcade arrives at the Freedom Era Weekly officeThe Taiwan Independence Action (獨立台灣會) motorcade has been making its rounds every Saturday and Sunday afternoon, for more than 10 years, since April 1994. Since returning to Taiwan in 1993, Su Beng has cultivated a grass roots following amongst taxi drivers and in 1994 Su Beng began organizing a group of taxis and trucks that form the weekly Taiwan Independence Action motorcade. On those afternoons, Su Beng himself would stand on a truck painted taxi cab yellow, with the words “獨立台灣會” or “Taiwan Independence Action” emblazoned on the side; he would speak over a megaphone and there would also be about 10 taxis in the procession. For nearly 2 hours, they would make their rounds around Taipei city and Taipei county.
Now, others in lieu of Su Beng have taken up the cause of delivering messages over the megaphone. To paraphrase, their messages are that: the Taiwanese must throw off the shackles of post-World War II colonization to become a normal country, and the Taiwanese need to stand up for themselves and Taiwan. Taiwan should be independent. The Republic of China is not the Taiwanese people's country.
Riding back to Sinjhuang after visiting the Freedom Era Weekly office
Monday, April 23, 2007
Official Book Release: Su Beng's The Ideology of Democracy
The official book release for Su Beng's latest book, The Ideology of Democracy (民主主義) will be held on Saturday, May 5, 2007 at 2:00pm, at the National Taiwan University Alumni Building (JiNan Road Section 1, No. 2-1, 4th Floor) . Click on the image below to enlarge- for complete details.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Waseda and the world at his feet
Su Beng, who's given name is Si Tiâu-hui (施朝暉, Hoklo Taiwanese language: Si Tiâu-hui, Pinyin: Shī Cháo Huī), was born on November 9, 1918 in the Shih Lin district of Taipei, Taiwan. He grew up in Taiwan during the second half of Taiwan's Japanese occupation period (1895-1945).
A good student and ambitious, Si Tiau-hui, like most promising young men of his day, aspired to become a medical doctor- the pinnacle profession of Taiwan's society at the time. Later he began to realize that perhaps this was not the way he wanted to serve society. His mother had expected him become a medical doctor, but he yearned to learn more outside of the limited higher education opportunities available in Taiwan. Fortunately his family had the means to send him to Waseda University (in Tokyo, Japan) where he obtained a degree in political science and economics. This was against his family's expectations; they expected him to study something practical, that would lead to a stable career, perhaps in the field of business since he could not be persuaded to become a medical doctor. Once Si Tiau-hui was at Waseda, the worlds of literature, arts, music, world history, and political theory opened up for him in a way that wouldn't have been possible in Taiwan.
During World War II when books on political thought were being banned in Japan, Si Tiau-hui learned of students who "went underground", forming secret reading societies where they read, shared and discussed these forbidden works. His studies at Waseda and involvement in these secret reading societies formed the base for Si Tiau-hui's understanding and study of Marxism and socialism.
He saw Japan as a rampant imperialist force that needed to be reigned in. Communism was an ideal form of socialism which led him to go to China in the pursuit of understanding. With high ideals he set off for China upon graduating from Waseda in 1942- to work with the Chinese Communists in the resistance against Japanese imperialism.
A good student and ambitious, Si Tiau-hui, like most promising young men of his day, aspired to become a medical doctor- the pinnacle profession of Taiwan's society at the time. Later he began to realize that perhaps this was not the way he wanted to serve society. His mother had expected him become a medical doctor, but he yearned to learn more outside of the limited higher education opportunities available in Taiwan. Fortunately his family had the means to send him to Waseda University (in Tokyo, Japan) where he obtained a degree in political science and economics. This was against his family's expectations; they expected him to study something practical, that would lead to a stable career, perhaps in the field of business since he could not be persuaded to become a medical doctor. Once Si Tiau-hui was at Waseda, the worlds of literature, arts, music, world history, and political theory opened up for him in a way that wouldn't have been possible in Taiwan.
During World War II when books on political thought were being banned in Japan, Si Tiau-hui learned of students who "went underground", forming secret reading societies where they read, shared and discussed these forbidden works. His studies at Waseda and involvement in these secret reading societies formed the base for Si Tiau-hui's understanding and study of Marxism and socialism. He saw Japan as a rampant imperialist force that needed to be reigned in. Communism was an ideal form of socialism which led him to go to China in the pursuit of understanding. With high ideals he set off for China upon graduating from Waseda in 1942- to work with the Chinese Communists in the resistance against Japanese imperialism.
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